Victory against Slovakia almost put the former Scotland boss into play-off berth

But would it have made him any better at the job?

The way he sees it, not a chance.

It’s one of the biggest criticisms aimed at the 60-year-old throughout his five years in charge of the national team.

That he was too single-minded. Too set in his ways. But Strach has an answer for that — he agrees.

In day two of an in-depth interview, he said: “Yeah well, first of all, as a manager you have to be stubborn.

“Whatever anyone else thinks, stubbornness will get you through everything.

“You can be wrong 10 per cent of the time but if you are right 90 per cent of the time then you’ll be alright. The best managers have always had that stubbornness. Fergie had that stubbornness— we’ve all got it — you have to be stubborn enough to stick to your principles.

“But people said I was stubborn for not picking Leigh Griffiths. But once Griffiths was on fire he was picked. He’s No1 now. So we can change things.

“It was the same with James Forrest and Stuart Armstrong. Forrest is flying with Celtic, he’s in the team and as soon as Armstrong is moved into a central midfield role? You’re in, I love you.

“Yes, we’re stubborn — you have to be stubborn as managers. You can’t change your mind every time a columnist or a pundit tells you what to do.

“These people have their opinions but these opinions have no consequences. People will say I should have picked this player or that player but we’ll never know if that was the right thing to do or not because their views have no consequences other than what people talk about in the pub.

“Every time I make a decision it has consequences for millions of people.

“When you make decisions as a club manager the consequences mean some people might keep their jobs. When you become Celtic manager the consequences affect millions. And when you are manager of Scotland then your decision has consequences for the whole country and you have to live with them.

“Other people can say what they like, their opinions have no consequences.

“Every decision I make has to be based upon the reality of what happens on the football field. Most of the times it’s alright, some of the times it doesn’t work.

“If you were to ask if I would have changed anything, I might, but who is to say it would have worked?

“But, with the English-based players, nobody in Scotland really sees what they are doing. They might see Fletcher or Snoddy on the telly on Saturday night but they’re not seeing what Barry Bannan is doing, or James McArthur.

“If top managers are picking them down there I can’t be getting it that wrong.”

Strachan’s team selections and omissions caused consternation at various points throughout his five years in charge.

Rumour has it even SFA President, Alan McRae, said to him before the England game at Hampden ‘That’s not the team I’d have picked’, only to be told in no uncertain terms that it was just as well he wasn’t the manager.

But he did explain one decision that rankled with supporters in the final game against Slovenia: In a must-win match where energy and legs were needed, why weren’t John McGinn and Callum McGregor given a chance?

Strachan said: “First of all I didn’t even know there was a campaign going on to have them in the team.

“I’d also watched Barry Bannan who was by far the best midfield player in the Championship at that point.

“He is technically the best player Scotland has even if he is a wee bit small.

“Then we had James McArthur who is playing at a right top level and Darren Fletcher who gives us a presence out there.

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He said: “Here’s why I picked John McGinn for the first squad he was in.

“I went to see the Under-21s train for a week at Mar Hall and the rest of the boys were just concentrating on their own thing when one of the physios was struggling to carry mannequins and all sorts of different things.

“But I saw McGinn walk over to the physio, speak to him, take the four mannequins off him and walk the 400 yards with them on to the pitch. I picked him on the fact that he was willing to help someone when nobody else was — it says a lot about the character of the man.”